Justice Gorsuch Questions LA Redistricting and the 14th Amendment

Redistricting and Racial Considerations

• 🎯 Justice Gorsuch questioned attorney Stuart C. Naifeh regarding the role of race in drawing voting districts in Louisiana.
• ⚖️ The core of the debate centered on whether race predominated in the drawing of a specific district, and how this aligns with the 14th Amendment's promise that race should play no role in laws.

Arguments on District Drawing

• 💡 The attorney argued that the district's shape was a remedy for a proven violation, not predominantly based on race.
• 🗺️ He suggested that historical factors, including slavery and Jim Crow, contributed to the concentration of Black populations in the district's corridor, creating existing community ties.
• 🗣️ The state identified communities of interest and political reasons as factors in drawing the district, in addition to addressing potential violations.

Predominance of Race in Redistricting

• ❓ Gorsuch pressed whether considering race as one factor is equivalent to race predominating, and how this squares with the 14th Amendment.
• ⚖️ The attorney countered that the court has recognized legislators are aware of race, and its consideration as one factor among many (like politics and communities of interest) does not mean it was the predominant factor.
• 📜 The plaintiffs, he argued, had not met their burden to prove that race was the driving force behind the district lines.